David slid the door handle with excitement and watched it open widely. Suddenly, his face felt cold when he saw who was standing there.

"Good morning, ma'am," he greeted his mother-in-law, feeling shocked.

"What's so good about this morning, you pauper?" she yelled at him harshly.

"Why didn't you wash my clothes before leaving this house?! And who gave you permission to leave?" she questioned sternly.

Words escaped David as he felt stupid and couldn't think of a reply to defend himself. Before he could respond, his face received two heavy slaps in a second.

"Are you deaf?" Mrs. Elena Wendy, his mother-in-law, asked, coming after the hot slaps.

He covered his face with his left hand and felt hurt inside. The pain from the slap ran through his veins deeply. He doubted if what hit him was a lady's palm because it was so hard and tough that it made his upper jaw dropped on his tongue forcefully, resulting in a tear.

That morning, he had woken up early and gone to the nearest market to buy a birthday present for his wife. Since they got married three years ago, he had never had the opportunity to gift her on her birthday.

Either he got caught up with the house chores throughout the day, or he was broke. Not that he was rich now, but since a few months ago, he had been saving up some pennies he earned from running errands for the Wendy family.

"I went to the market," he muttered in pain of the heavy slaps, his eyes already red as fire.

"To the market? To do what? Who sent you?" she bombarded him with multiple questions in a second.

"I went there to get a birthday gift for my wife," David mumbled.

"You have a wife?" she asked interrogatively.

David felt stunned by the question. He intended not to answer, but he might receive another resounding slap. He quickly swallowed his hesitation and muttered, "Yes, ma'am. Diana Wendy is my wife."

She scoffed and clapped her hands frantically, glaring at his foolishness.

At first, he was dumbfounded by the stupid question, and secondly, he was stunned by her reaction when he replied.

'Did she forget I'm Diana's husband? that's insane. Well, I can't blame her for that, since I'm nothing but an errand boy to the Wendy family, despite that they have enough maids,' he thought silently.

Mrs. Elena dragged him recklessly, and he staggered into the living room, losing his control. "Diana!" she shouted at the top of her voice.

David was curious about her next action, but he knew it would never be in his favor.

Diana heard her mother's voice echoing through the walls in her room and rushed out to the living room.

Suddenly, she stopped when she saw a red palm print on David's face, then looked at her mother in confusion.

She turned her face down afterwards, closing her eyes firmly, and muttered, 'What problem has he caused for himself this time again?'

"This loser said he got you a gift," Mrs. Elena let out mockingly.

Diana raised her head, gazing at him with so much pity. He was a piece of trash, but still, her husband anyway. She had married him blindly. She thought his future would be fruitful since he was intelligent in college. He also graduated as one of the best students at Brentford College.

Diana moved close to David and asked, "Where is the gift, darling?"

David's heart skipped a beat. He looked at his wife warmly and reluctantly reached into his pocket to retrieve the present.

Just then, a striking laughter came from the entrance. The three of them instantly turned towards the sound, only to see Tony, Diana's cousin.

David bit his lips tightly, and his heart raced. He knew Tony would be nothing but salt added to his wound.

"Bring it out, you loser," Tony mocked from a distance.

David had planned to give his wife the gift secretly, but his mother-in-law had changed the narrative.

David saw Mrs. Elena's furious gaze and quickly brought out the gift. It was a small, shabby box, and the words written on it had already faded.

"Open it!" she commanded mockingly.

Diana wanted to help her husband out of the embarrassment, but there was nothing she could do.

"Why are you wasting so much time?" Tony yelled, walking towards him.

David's hands trembled, and his heart was heavy in his chest. He opened the box slowly, and Mrs. Elena and Tony burst into roaring laughter.

David felt so disappointed in himself. He couldn't bear the disdain any longer, but he dared not leave the spot. He was worried about letting his innocent wife witness his embarrassment. Diana looked enraged and dissatisfied. She wanted everything to end immediately.

Tony picked up the item inside the box. It was an old pendant necklace. He burst into another loud laughter and asked, "How much did you get this useless necklace for?"

'What business does he have with the price? After all, he called the necklace useless,' David thought silently.

He decided to fake the price but he didn't want to be foolish enough to mention a ridiculous price.

"I got it for $150," David murmured.

Mrs. Elena was enraged. She walked up to him and spit on his forehead, splashing into his eyes. Diana buried her face in her hands in immediate disgust and mumbled, "Enough, Mom!"

David regretted his existence in that moment, struggling to open his eyes. He had to clean his face with his tattered shirt. He had made countless wishes in an instant, but above all, he wished he could disappear from their sight.

The fact that his wife was already pleading on his behalf made him slightly relieved, but it wasn't enough.

Her mother turned to her and yelled, "What's wrong with you, Diana? Has this moron charmed you? Mr. William was here this morning. He brought an Italian high-heel shoe worth nothing less than $150,000. Are you telling me you prefer this faded, useless necklace over luxurious heels?"

David opened his mouth in awe, but he kept the shock, instantly. 'What's wrong with William Blatt? Why does he have to spend so lavishly on someone else wife?' he silently questioned.

"My daughter is only worth $150 to you? You should be ashamed of yourself. You are nothing but a loser," Mrs. Elena wailed at David.

He couldn't say anything. He stood shamefully, his eyes twitching.

Tony moved closer to him and muttered, "You will remain a loser, no matter how hard you tried to prove it wrong."

David closed his eyes firmly, feeling so bad with Tony's words. But he concurred with the truth he just said. No matter how hard he had tried to prove his worth, he only became more useless to the family.

Tony turned to Diana and uttered, "Your husband is such a disgrace to the Wendy family."

He moved slightly towards Mrs. Elena and pleaded, "I'm so sorry for whatever headache my cousin has caused you with her hopeless husband."

He walked towards the exit door before announcing loudly, "Granny said I should inform you that every member of the family should assemble in the meeting hall by 2 P.M."

Tony walked out of the living room without a second glance.

Mrs. Elena glared at her daughter, who looked so unhappy, and her good-for-nothing husband, then left in irritation.

Diana ran back to her room, her heart full of sadness, and David followed her immediately.

It was 2 PM at Wendy Villa. Every member of the family had gathered, patiently waiting for Granny's arrival. They were engaged in side conversations until they heard the door slam. There was ten seconds of silence before Tony roared, "You fool, why did you slam the door so hard?"

It was David who accidentally let the door slip out of his hand and hit it hard. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled, and the whole house hissed at his stupidity. At that moment, his legs felt so heavy that he struggled to take further steps.

"Hey David!" Diana called him, and he looked up and saw his wife. Mrs. Elena gave her daughter a scornful look, but Diana didn't seem bothered by it.

David gained some energy and walked to the vacant seat between Diana and Tony. Tony looked at him derisively and asked, "Why do you stink so much?" scrunching his nose.

Diana's look conveyed to David that she wanted him to ignore whatever Tony said.

"Uhn hun," Granny cleared her throat as she entered and took her seat, which was the highest among them all. She looked healthy and active, even though she was already in her 70's. She had been in control of the Wendy family since her husband passed away some years ago.

The meeting hall was 30 feet by 40 feet. It had a big mahogany table in the middle, with enough chairs around it.

The meeting began instantly as Granny began to pray. "May the peace and joy in this family never die off."

"Amen," the whole house echoed.

Granny rested her back and gazed at every member of the family until her eyes caught David. David could sense the hatred in her eyes, but he was used to it.

"We have just one week left until our anniversary. Every member of the family has contributed several millions, which have been spent on different things needed for the occasion to be a success," Granny explained, heaving a sigh before continuing her speech.

"However, we still need $30 million more to make the anniversary the talk of the town." David pulled out his cracked screen iPhone 6 from his pocket and logged into his bank app. It displayed nothing else but $3.00. Tony, who had been watching him, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The whole house's attention turned to him, and he immediately pleaded, "What's funny to you, Tony?" Granny asked sternly.

"I'm so sorry, Grandma. This loser beside me just logged into his bank app, thinking he could help with the $30 million, but I was shocked to see $3.00 written boldly on his app" he mocked, pointing at David.

The high volume of the laughter in the hall made David regretted his action. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth firmly. He glared at Tony disdainfully and swallowed his saliva.

"Maybe he had no knowledge that $30 million has seven zeros," one of them said.

"How can someone be so stupid to compare death with slumber?" another person said, and a thunderous laughter erupted.

"Enough!" Granny scolded. Instantly, the hall became as quiet as a graveyard, and then she continued.

"Presently, the Wendy Group estimated net worth is about $350 million, but it would be unprofessional and risky to take out of the fund since we have numerous ongoing projects," she said, pointing at Alfred, Tony's elder brother. "You wanted to say something?"

Alfred stood up gently, resting his palms on the mahogany table for support.

"I want to suggest that we should reconsider some of the choices we made initially. We can make use of a hotel with a lower price instead of spending so much on The Wales hotel. We can also make the party to be opened to limited numbers instead of unlimited people. This way, the cost of meals and drinks would decrease," he suggested and took his seat.

Alfred was the financial manager of the Wendy Group. He was an economist and known for being prudent in everything he does.

"You made a point, Alfred," Mrs. Elena interrupted. "Nevertheless, we want an elaborate celebration not just for anything else, but to help the popularity of our company. Moreover, it will give other big companies the chance to consider partnering with us, such as Tutfold Plc and others."

"Very true," Tony commented. Mrs. Elena took her seat while Tony brought up another suggestion.

"I second my aunt's point. I would suggest that we should reach out to Mr. Steven Huge for a loan." The whole house was stunned by his suggestion, but it seemed to be the only way they could get such a sum.

Steven Huge was a popular investor in the entire Glover city. He owned a popular micro-finance bank in the city, even though there were ongoing bad reviews about the bank.

Diana didn't say a word at the gathering because she had lost her reputation in the family since she married a loser. Granny still remained baffled about her granddaughter's taste for men. There were several rich men who had been asking for her hand in marriage even after she married David, but it seemed that her love for David was indestructible.

Alfred scoffed and uttered from his seat, "Did you all have knowledge about the wild policies in Mr. Huge's businesses?"

"Whatever policy it is, we will take the loan," Granny declared. "You made a good suggestion, my boy," Granny added, giving Tony a gleeful smile.

"Who will volunteer himself or herself to be a guarantor?" Granny's question brought total silence to the the hall immediately.

One of the wildest policies in Mr. Huge business is that, a member of the family taking loan must be in their custody till debt will be repaid. The member of the family volunteered, is known as the guarantor.

"Nobody? Did you all expect Tony, who brought the helpful suggestion, to volunteer himself? You are all wrong if that's your thought," a chill ran through Tony's spine as Granny excluded him.

Tony used to be Granny's favorite right from his childhood. She was even planning to make him the manager of their under-construction branch in the next city.

Being a guarantor in any business with Mr. Huge requires thinking twice. His policies have caused bad reviews about his company to rise every now and then. There was a time he was charged to court, but he was able to evade unfavorable judgment because he has contacts with many powerful people in the business and political organizations of the city.

After some minutes of humming from the Wendy family members, Granny slammed the table angrily and declared.

"Whoever volunteers himself or herself will get a 15 percent monthly allowance of any revenue the Wendy Group makes until the next anniversary."

Everybody was left in awe of Granny's offer; almost everybody was tempted to volunteer themselves, even Tony was not exempted.

After the offer, there was just a continuous murmur. None of them was ready to risk their lives with Mr. Huge's dreadful policies. 

Who does that? Accepting to be a guarantor for such loan company is more of depriving oneself of his or her own freedom. None of them dared to submit themself since nobody knows how soon the Wendy Group will be able to earn a whopping sum of $30 million that could be spared for debt repayment. 

Moreover, whoever volunteer's themself would not have the chance to witness the party since the individual would be in Mr. Huge's custody.

In David's ignorance, he stood up and announced,

"I will volunteer myself."

Shock was written on everyone's face. Diana couldn't hold it to herself. She tried to pull his hand down to get him seated but his body was so firm.

"Granny, don't mind his words, he's sick upstairs!" Diana wailed, looking at him with disgust.

Granny's lips curled, she stood and walked to Diana, then whispered "He's in his right senses, don't discourage him."

Diana was short of words and watched Granny walked to her husband.

"Thank you, David." She patted his shoulder until he fell back to his seat. "You are such a brave and helpful son-in-law, I blessed the day you professed love to my granddaughter," she smiled at him.

David's heart vibrated in an instant. He was shocked with Granny's comment on his contribution. 'Did she just say I'm a helpful son-in-law? Wow! I've successful changed the thought of being useless from the mind of the Wendy family,' he celebrated his win silently.

Mrs. Elena and Tony exchanged glances and smiled at each other quietly. It was obvious they already had a plan about what just happened.

Diana pulled her husband close to herself and asked in a low tone, "Do you know what you just put yourself into?"

Before he could reply, Granny's voice ordered. "Dismiss!"

_________________

David entered the bedroom with his wife, his mind filled with disorder.

"Did I do anything wrong, darling?" he asked with his chest beating so fast.

Diana said nothing but turned her back against him angrily.

"I'm very sorry, darling. I'm only trying to prove my usefulness to the family, and also I wanted to retrieve your reputation. That was why I seized the opportunity," he pleaded.

"Do you think it through before you go for it? Do you even know about the policies?" She asked him, her eyes red and dimmed with anger.

"What are those policies about?" he asked curiously, his brow furrowed.

Diana faced him and scoffed, then uttered, "The craziest among the policies is that..."

"David!!" a wailing voice called.

"Yes, I'm here!" he responded quickly since he knew it was one of the eldest maids.

"Granny is at the car garage waiting for you. She said you should join her immediately," the maid delivered and left.

David got confused instantly. He was at the point of pleading with his wife, which was still in progress. Granny, who had just accepted him as a helpful son-in-law, also needed his attention.

He gazed at his wife and muttered, "I will be back soon." He dashed out and joined Granny at the car garage.

"Open it for him," Granny ordered the maid to open the black Range Rover's door.

He felt stunned and happy. He was honored for the first time in the Wendy family.

He sat happily beside Granny and enjoyed the ride. Shortly, they arrived at their destination. It was a silent, big building with hefty men at the entrance.

"I have an appointment with Mr. Huge," Granny disclosed to the black, scary guy at the gate.

The guy glared at them for a while, which gave Granny a kind of mixed thought at the moment.

"Take them to the reception," a thick, scary voice ordered from a distance.

One of the men led the way and guided them to the reception.

Granny was a very popular person in Glover City, but Mr. Huge's workers don't toy with procedures.

After they waited for 30 minutes, a young lady in her twenties came and took them to Mr. Huge's office using the elevator.

David had no clue about where they were or what they came there to do.

"You are welcome!" a lanky man with a husky voice spoke.

"Thank you, sir," Granny replied, offering herself a seat. David, who looked so puzzled, cluelessly sat as well.

"Stand up!" the man yelled at him.

He stood immediately, shocked and full of befuddlement.

"I believe you know about our T&C?" Mr. Huge inquired with Granny.

"Yes, I do," she replied cheerfully.

He brought out a file that consist of some write-ups, then flipped till the last page and ordered David to sign.

He was perplexed and his heart was pounding so heavily. He stared at Granny, expecting an explanation from her, but all he heard was "Sign it, David."

Reluctantly, he signed. His mind was filled with numerous thoughts.

Mr. Huge took the file from him and added it to a mountain of files in front of him. He wrote a cheque for Granny and told her to get the cash from his bank.

At this moment, David understood that they had come for a loan. 'But why did he yelled at me to stand up? Why didn't Granny sign the file herself since it's just a signature?' All these were running through his mind until a light slap hit the back of his head.

David broke out of his reverie as he watched Granny leave the office and he peeked in the direction from which the slap came.

He caressed the back of his head as the pain penetrated into his soul.

'Why is she leaving while I'm still here?' he thought.

He ignored the scary-looking man who slapped him and, at the same time, wanted to thank him for bringing him back to life with the slap.

As he was about to take a step toward the door, he received a punch on his chest.

'What did I do to this man? you woke me up with a slap to follow Granny, now you just hit my chest badly while I was about going' he thought silently as he groan loudly of the pain.

"They didn't leave any percent behind for his feeding" Mr. Huge informed the scary man.

David was lost, he couldn't comprehend what the man was talking about till he ordered the scary man.

"Take him out!"

David thought ran to the silence that occurred when Tony suggested the loan from Mr. Huge. He also fast forward his thought to the decorum that filled the meeting hall despite the tempting offer that Granny issued.

At this moment, he understood why his wife said he was sick upstairs.

He grumbled with pain as the scary man dragged him out and he murmured "I'm sick upstairs" with his eyes laced with tears.